FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT TEST SCORES - PAGE 4

Bethlehem Area elementary and middle school students continued to outperform the state average in math and reading on the 2002 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, while the two high schools produced scores slightly below average. District administrators reviewed the PSSA scores on Monday with school directors at the board's curriculum committee meeting. Superintendent Joseph Lewis said administrators are eager to see what will happen to test scores when this year's ninth-graders, who have studied standards-based math and English since they started middle school, take the test again as 11th-graders.

A car repair manual is filled with technical language that the typical driver can't understand. But what if a mechanic couldn't read it either? Brian Williams, principal of the Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School, has collected reams of data that show vocational-technical students historically perform worse on standardized reading tests than their classmates at traditional high schools. "We typically take in the type of student who struggles with reading," Williams said. "Yet these kids often have to understand difficult and highly technical words and concepts to learn their trade."

Girls in the Allentown School District performed better than boys on a standardized test last year in almost every area -- including high school math -- bucking fears of some that girls are being shortchanged in mathematics and science education. The girls' average scores were higher -- in some cases only slightly -- than those of boys in reading and language arts on the Metropolitan Achievement Test given in elementary, middle and high school, said Superintendent Diane Scott. The trends held true for the three major ethnic groups in the district: white, black and Hispanic.

In Wisconsin, where the state motto is "Forward," the nation's first -- and only -- publicly funded school-choice program has operated five years in Milwaukee, with mixed results. Parents are happier with the private schools they selected for their children than with the public schools. But test scores for the choice students have shown no significant increase or decrease. "Those who leave the program come in with lower test scores and leave still behind," writes John F. Witte, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the program's official evaluator.

Ever wonder how your child's school stacks up against other schools on standardized tests? For the last eight years, Pennsylvania had a measure -- albeit a controversial one -- to tell you just that. But no more. When the state threw out its TELLS (Testing for Essential Learning and Literacy Skills) exam last year, officials also did away with the one tangible indicator parents had of how students in every school district performed on a standardized test. Although TELLS was replaced with a new exam given for the first time in March, the state no longer will release school district scores as it did for TELLS, said Bette Phelan, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

By Melinda Rizzo Special to The Morning Call - Freelance | December 9, 2007

An incentive program at Quakertown Community School District -- one of at least two districts in the state to tie teachers' pay to student performance -- is increasing teacher accountability and improving test scores, the district superintendent says. The annual incentive pay program, implemented two years ago, offers teachers a 1.25 percent bonus if students reach established test score benchmarks. "Our teachers met the goals in math and reading that were set," said Superintendent Lisa Andrejko, who recently signed checks totaling $342,000 to pay out the bonus for the 2006-07 school year.

The teachers at Raub Middle School were, understandably, in a celebratory mood. Their students had performed so well on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, Raub's test scores were the best of Allentown's four middle schools. Not only had fewer students scored in the below basic category, others had risen into the ranks of proficient and advanced. "When the PSSA scores came out," said Principal Regina Finlayson, "the teachers were absolutely ecstatic." Then, they picked up Wednesday's newspaper.

Looking to boost sagging test scores at its middle schools, the Allentown School District has adopted a staff development plan for teachers at that level. The training is to coincide with the new curriculum that will be implemented at the middle schools. Superintendent Diane Scott said revamping the middle school program became a priority after she noticed a `tremendous dip` of test scores of pupils going into sixth grade. "I wanted to take a look at middle schools and see what they are in need of," Scott said.

The Allentown School District has decided to drop its legal battle with the state over standardized test scores. In an executive session before Thursday's meeting, the school board opted to abide by Monday's Commonwealth Court decision, which said the state Department of Education correctly applied the law when it labeled Allentown a distressed district. The board waited until Friday afternoon to make the news public. "The board, acting responsibly, felt it was necessary to question the law. Now judgment has been made," James LeVan, board president, said in a news release issued Friday.

By Terry Ahner Special to The Morning Call - Freelance | October 10, 2006

More computers could help students' math and reading scores in the Panther Valley Area School District, directors said Monday. The School Board's Education Committee heard from all three building principals who shared their thoughts on the state of the district's Pennsylvania System of School Assessment scores. The PSSA tests are taken by students in grades five, eight and 11, and are used to determine academic performance in reading and mathematics. The math scores of students in grade 11 who took the PSSA tests were well below state standards, while reading scores were also below the required guidelines.